The Prophesised Child Of Pain
by Anyuna
Summary: A young witch, guided by fate, is thrust into the spotlight as her world gets turned upside-down by none other than Draco Malfoy. A prophesy once said that the child of pain would change the world with her choices. But change for good or bad? You’ll have
1. The Prophesy

A/N: This is a prologue of the main characters mother. PS - it was not Lucius who 'did the deed', it was Brindigo. (You'll get what I mean)

* * *

Once, a prophesy was made. No one knew who it referred to, and for a long time it remained a mystery. Then Voldemort rose to power, and the meaning became clearer.

The Dark Lord shall have an heir.

Not his by blood, but by his servant.

A child from the seed of pain, she shall have to face much,

And her choices will shape the world.

Identified by the tongue and the mark of the serpent

And will be guarded over by the child of the ashen pest.

Restored, he shall seek her.

A reluctant servant shall discover her.

Good and evil both shall appeal to them

For the actions of these two shall be the decider.

* * *

Soon, the subject of this prophesy will come of age.

This is her story.

* * *

"What took you Brindigo?" Lucius demanded, his voice tense. "These traitors should be dead by now, and they would be if you hadn't taken so damn long."

Brindigo continued his casual stroll out of the alleyway and shrugged. "I stopped to have a little fun."

Lucius rolled his eyes. "Well now that you're here Your Majesty." he drawled, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Would it be alright if we got on with this?"

He whipped out his wand, blasting the front door inwards. "Let's do this."

Selina, still sobbing silently, tears streaming down her face, tried in vain to cover her body with what was left of her now tattered robes. "Why me?" she whispered. "I never did anything wrong. Why did this have to happen to me?"

Whimpering, she slowly pulled herself up using a nearby trashcan, then leant on the wall to steady herself. Clutching to her body what could only be described as rags, she hobbled off, thanking the entire universe that she was in London and luckily only a few blocks from St. Mungos. She managed to get right up to the desk before finally collapsing on the poor mediwitch handling the reception, who had thought she was in for an easy night.

When she woke up, aching and alone once more, she came to a very firm decision. No man would ever touch her again. If anyone tried that again, she wouldn't even hesitate to kill him. A mediwitch bustled in, pressing a goblet of potion into her hands, which she drank gratefully, slipping back into peaceful oblivion.

Her mother's voice roused her. Selina opened her eyes reluctantly, knowing she was about to have every last detail squeezed out of her. Plus she could hear someone pacing heavily. She sighed inwardly. Someone was going to need to restrain her father when he found out exactly what had happened, lest he get himself killed.

Sure enough, the moment she looked into her mother's face, she was pumped mercilessly on every conceivable aspect.

The same mediwitch that had given her the potion came in, her face grave. She took Selina's parents aside. "I have some bad news. Our tests show that your daughter is now pregnant from the man that raped her."

While bathing her now week old daughter, Selina noticed a mark on the underside of her upper left arm. "What an ugly mark on my beautiful little girl. It almost looks like some sort of snake. Well," she said as her daughter splashed happily in the bath, "it looks like you'll be wearing long sleeves from now on."

If only she had known of the significance of that birthmark. Then they could have prepared her.


	2. Who Is That!

Leaving potions, Draco felt that he'd forgotten something. He started to check things off on his fingers. "Bag, parchment, ink, quill – quill!" Realizing what it was, he turned back down the corridor to retrieve his quill.

Just about to go through the door, he crashed into someone coming out. About to deliver a crushing insult, he stopped dead in his tracks. She was absolutely gorgeous!

She looked up, holding her elbow where it had hit the floor. When she saw who it was she'd collided with, her eyes widened in shock. After hurriedly picking up her hat and ramming it back on her head, she scooped her books up, muttered, "Sorry." and took off.

Draco watched her swiftly retreating back in awe. He'd never seen any girl that was so striking. He could still see a few stray strands of her deep ruby-red hair that had escaped from the confines of her cap.

"Tell me Draco. Are you going to come in or are you planning to sit out there all day?"

Draco cringed. He hadn't realized how long he'd been staring. "Sorry sir. I was just wondering who that girl was; I've never seen her before." He almost thought he heard Snape sigh softly, but dismissed it – it being Snape and all.

"She is in your house and your year. Just because you didn't notice her before doesn't mean she wasn't there. Now, if you're finished interrogating me I'd like to know why you're here before the next millennia."

Draco's cheeks flushed hotly. "Sorry sir. I forgot my quill."

Snape stood there for only a moment before walking off past him, saying wearily, "Just close the door behind you."

He retrieved his quill and wandered down to lunch in a mild daze. He had to know who that girl was and how – if she really had been there the whole time – had he been so blind not to notice her.

* * *

Later that day in the Slytheryn common room, Tamora sat in her usual chair. During first year, she had dragged it into the corner furthest from the fire and faced it towards the window. No one had noticed. Still in the same spot, it was her little island of refuge in this sea of people. No one ever bothered her here; she was free to read in peace. She was currently devouring a volume entitled, 'A History of Potions', and was steadily plowing through all the potion-related books the library held.

"Hello again."

Tamora's head shot up. It was Draco Malfoy AGAIN! What did he want now? "Wh- What do you want? I said I was sorry." She exclaimed, unable to keep the stammer out of her voice.

A cold dread began to set in as she realized that everyone in the common room had stopped what they were doing and were now watching intently, trying to fathom why Draco would be talking to her. She shrank back in her chair as if trying to dig her way through it to escape.

"What are you on about? I only wanted to –" he was cut off by Tamora taking off; she'd decided to not let him harass her in front of everyone. In her hurry to escape, a piece of parchment fell out of her pocket. It read; Remember: Tuesday, 7pm, Potions. He had no idea why she'd left all of a sudden, but at least now he had a chance to talk to her again.

* * *

Now in the Library, Tamora was trying to calm her twanging nerves. What could he have possibly wanted from her? Dozens of possible scenarios dashed through her mind. '_Maybe he knows about my family. No, that's too unlikely. What if…_' With a groan of defeat she rested her head on the desk completely unable to think anymore.

But that didn't last long. All too soon she was being shooed out of the library by Madame Pince who scolded her for being out so late and told her to go to bed.

'_Well, at least tomorrow is Tuesday, so I have something to look forward to._' That thought cheered her up no end as she wandered back up to the Slytheryn common room. This time of night was her favorite. Not late enough to get her in trouble, but late enough that almost everyone was settling down for the evening. There was no one about to judge her, she was free to be whoever she liked – a rare thing indeed.

Finally in curled up in her bed, Tamora sighed the happy sigh of one safe in the knowledge that tomorrow will be better than today.


	3. Tuesday

Never had a day gone more quickly for Tamora. Finally she had a chance to do what she loved in her own time. It was only one night a week, but it was still great. She spent the whole of dinner staring off into space planning her evening.

When six fifty finally rolled around, Tamora excitedly got to her feet and left the common room. She was in such a good mood that she felt like it was a struggle not to skip.

Draco turned, seeing her leave at the last minute. He waited a few seconds, then followed her out. Wherever she was going, she sure seemed pleased about it.

Tamora knocked lightly on Professor Snape's door. "Yes?" He snapped.

Tamora opened the door and went in. "It's me sir."

Snape's expression changed dramatically when he heard Tamora's voice. Looking up and actually smiling at her, he said, "Oh, it's you Tamora. What is it?" Around his protégé, Snape was very different. He was always kind towards her, almost fatherly. After her grandfather, Snape was the closest thing she had to a dad.

"I just came to let you know I was here and there wasn't anyone sneaking around the classroom."

"That's fine Tamora. I've set up everything you should need, but if there's anything else, just let me know." For the life of him, Severus couldn't work out why he cared for this girl so much. In a way he supposed, she was a lot like him. Gifted, quiet and alone. And gifted she was. In all his years of teaching potions, she was without question the best student he had ever had.

"Thank you professor." Tamora smiled happily, then turned and left Snape alone once more.

Draco, of course, heard none of this. All he knew was that she had gone into Snape's office for a couple of minutes, then come back out and headed towards the dungeon where potions class was held.

The first thing Tamora did upon entering the room was to light all the fires in the room to warm it up. Next was to discard her heavy coat and hat, unceremoniously dumping them on the floor. Having done that, she got straight to work.

Draco was amazed at the change in her. Her posture was more upright and her face seemed more at ease than before. She was confident. If he'd thought she was pretty earlier, now she was breathtaking. He had to try again, try to get through to her. He knocked softly on the door.

Tamora looked up suddenly from her potion, but then she chuckled. "Are you stalking me or something?"

This time, Draco was the one left speechless. But, that didn't last long. (A/N: Pity.) "Well I wouldn't have had to follow you if you didn't keep freaking out."

"Do you blame me? I've spent all me time here trying to be inconspicuous, and then one of the highest profile people in the whole school comes and talks to me in front of everyone." she paused, thinking for a moment. "Why do you want to talk to me anyway?"

Draco had to think quickly. He didn't want to scare her off. "I- uh just thought you'd like a friend."

"Why'd you think that?" she asked. Draco just shrugged; even he couldn't come up with a plausible story for that.

To change the subject, Draco asked, "How come you're in here? Punishment for something?"

Tamora laughed. "Far from it. Professor Snape is letting me make potions that aren't taught here. I like a challenge, and the stuff we do in class is just plain boring."

"Boring? A Polyjuice Potion is boring?" Draco could barely believe his ears. He cruised through his schooling a little, but to find seventh year potions easy was just inconceivable.

She shrugged. "Right now I'm starting a Penology Potion. It's not used much anymore; most wizards find it too complex."

"I've never even heard of it."

"It makes the witch or wizard experience a punishment that fits the crimes they've committed in their life." She shrugged again. "I suppose it's just easier to chuck them in Azkaban." She looked at Draco. "Sorry. I didn't mean it like that."

"It's okay." He honestly didn't care that his father had spent a stint in the care of the Dementors; it was his own fault for getting caught.

Tamora glanced at her watch and grimaced. "I should be packing up now."

Draco nodded. "See you later." He said to her on the way out the door. He didn't want to get caught out of bed. Head Boy or not, he'd still get a detention, and he didn't want to give Potty and more material to work with.

* * *

At breakfast the next morning, Draco saw her coming through the doors and went to wave her over. She took one look at him, turned around and went straight out again. Frustrated, he went after her. "What was that all about?" he asked when he finally caught up with her.

Tamora rolled her eyes. "What part of 'I try to be inconspicuous' do you not get? Look, just leave me alone okay?" She walked off, leaving Draco with absolutely nothing to say.

* * *

"Ha! Take that Malfoy!" Harry was gloating quite openly. In Draco's opinion, he had only won because of that stupid firebolt. But still that meant yet another Quidditch loss to Gryffindor. It didn't mean that he was getting used to loosing yet though, every loss stung just as much as the first one had.

After the game, Draco fell back from the group to avoid the usual Potter bashing session. Usually he'd be joining in wholeheartedly, but didn't feel like it much today.

Deciding to go for a walk instead, he headed off towards the old Whomping Willow. There was always something calming about its gentle swaying. Not so comforting if you got too close, but it was fine if you kept your distance.

Almost at the tree, Draco noticed someone sprawled out in the grass. Going to leave, he suddenly noticed her deep red hair. Spread out over her shoulders in the sun, it almost looked as if it was on fire.

As if Tamora had been warned he was there, she sat up and shielded her eyes, trying to see who was there. When she recognized Draco, she sighed.

It seemed to Draco that she was listening to something, and then she shook her head, saying no. But saying no to what? He dismissed this as unimportant and walked over to her. "What are you doing?" he asked.

Tamora went to reprimand him for following her again, but decided it wasn't worth the effort. "I'm sketching the Whomping Willow." She held up her drawing pad that showed half of the tree, already swaying gently like its 3D twin. "It must be in a good mood today. It's staying still when I start drawing. Usually it tries to put me off by moving around erratically."

Unable to think of a subtle way to ask, Draco just came out and said it. "Why do you hide from everyone?" Draco asked bluntly.

Tamora looked at him, shocked by his brazen question. Then she actually thought about it. "I just don't like people judging me. And if they don't notice me, they can't make any judgments. That's why I do everything I can to avoid drawing attention to myself." She looked sternly at Draco. "That's also why I can't be seen with to you."

"What if no one was around?"

"Well, uh I suppose so." she stammered.

"Fine then, I'll meet you after your potions thing next Tuesday." Draco said. Without even waiting for an answer, he sauntered off back towards the castle.

Tamora watched him go in total disbelief. "How can someone be so arrogant?" she hissed to Merlin.

"Should I bite him?" he asked.

"No." she replied. "That probably wouldn't be a good idea."

* * *

A/N: So, who is this mysterious character? Why didn't Draco see him? And why am I asking so many stupid questions? Find out in later chapters! R R 


	4. Merlin

'Dear Adair,' Tamora wrote, 'I hope this letter finds you well. I have had the strangest week! For some reason, Draco Malfoy has been following me around and wanting to talk to me. He even followed me to my special potions class last Tuesday night. I really don't know what to do about him.'

She paused, tapping her quill against her chin. It would be rude to make this whole letter just about her. She thought for a moment, then continued to write.

'Anyway, enough of that. How are you and Tryphena? Did you get those pictures of the grounds that you asked me to send? I hope they're good enough.' She nodded, that would be sufficient. She finished off by putting 'all my love, Tamora.' then rolled it up and fixed it to the leg of her owl, Hiram.

* * *

Tamora spent most of her Tuesday feeling nervous, just waiting for Draco to show up. But he didn't turn up. It wasn't until she was leaving the dungeons that she heard a voice behind her.

"Evening." He said quietly, making her jump. She turned to see him leaning casually against a wall.

"You scared me half to death!" she scolded him.

He shrugged. "I seem to have that effect on people."

"Well, you wouldn't if you didn't skulk around in the shadows like some common thug."

"Hey give me a break" he said, moving away from the wall and slipping his hands into his pockets. "I came to see you, didn't I?"

Tamora sighed exasperatedly. "But here's the thing. I didn't ASK you to come, you just assumed that everyone is prepared to drop what they're doing and follow orders just because it's a Malfoy giving them!" She walked off past him. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some homework to finish before bed."

But nobody walks away from a Malfoy. Draco grabbed her wrist. "Now look here!" was as far as he got, because a black snake came shooting out of her bag and writhed down his arm, hissing threateningly. Tamora acted instantly. Dropping her bag to the floor, she grabbed the snake with both hands, just as it was rearing up to strike.

As if this wasn't weird enough, she then started hissing at the little creature. When she had finished, it slithered up the sleeve of her robe. She turned to Draco. "Before you even ask, yes that is a snake and yes I am a parselmouth. Now do you understand why I don't want to be noticed?"

He just gaped in response. The snake had popped up the back of her collar and was looking at him, daring him to come closer. It hissed something at him and Tamora's eyes widened in surprise.

"That's a bit harsh even for you." She said to him in parseltongue. To Draco she said, "You don't even want to know what he just called you. I'm sorry about that, but Merlin can be a bit over-protective."

"You don't say." Draco said hoarsely. "What is he anyway?"

"Oh I raised him myself. I found an Ashwinder egg, put then in a cauldron and made sure that the fire kept burning till he hatched out." She smiled as she felt Merlin curl himself around her neck and go to sleep.

"How are you even allowed to keep him here?"

"I'm not. No one knows about him, not even my family. They all hate snakes. I can't see why. I think he's gorgeous."

As they were walking down the stairs towards the Slytheryn common room, Tamora was so caught up in her thoughts that she failed to remember the trick stair. Her ankle got caught in it and she went tumbling down the stairs, her books flying out of her bag.

"You okay?" Draco asked. She nodded mutely, scooping up her books, hardly able to believe she could've been that stupid. "Here," Draco offered, "Let me get this for you." He picked up a slim book labeled, 'sketches'. Opening it at a random page, he saw a beautiful drawing of Merlin, every scale was perfect.

Tamora saw what he was looking at. "Hey, give that back!" She made a grab for it, but he kept it easily out of her reach.

"Just a minute. This is really good." He turned a page and was confronted by a picture of himself and Harry on broomsticks, both fighting desperately to get the snitch only a tiny distance away. It had been charmed to move so that the two were fighting quite furiously, but neither was wining. The title at the top read, 'an exercise in futility'. Draco looked sideways at her. "Futility?"

"Sorry about that. It's not personal. I just don't see what the big deal about being able to catch a ball is. Do you?" Draco didn't have an answer to that. How could anyone not like Quidditch? Tamora carried on. "I can see how it would be fun to do, I just don't understand what makes it the be all and end all."

"It proves you're a winner. It's just another way of gaining respect." Tamora looked surprised at that comment, but not nearly as confused as Draco was. He didn't know where that had come from, but it did make sense. It didn't mean he was about to swear off Quidditch or anything though.

* * *

A/N: So now you know. What do you think? 


	5. Pansy's Discovery

Over the next week, Tamora found that she was actually beginning to enjoy Draco's company in the brief moments they spent together when no one was around. As long as they kept well away from the famous Harry Potter, he made for good conversation. That day, she didn't even mind when he came up to her in the library for a chat.

"I made something I know you'll like today." She handed a piece of parchment to him.

"What is it?"

"Just watch it." she said smiling.

As he watched, little caricatures of Harry, Ron and Hermione appeared, laughing and carrying on. Behind them, Snape appeared, tapping his foot irately. Cartoon Snape tried to get their attention but the drawn figures ignored him making him angrier and angrier until he turned into a Hungarian Horntail, towering over the three. They turned around, only to be torched by the flame from the dragon/Snape. As he changed back, the blacked threesome blinked twice, then disintegrated into three little piles of ash with shocked-looking eyeballs on top.

Draco looked up at Tamora as the parchment wiped itself, then started its little tale again.

"I made it for Professor Snape. I thought he'd find it funny. What do you think of it?" she asked.

"Can I have a copy?"

She smiled. "I'll take that as a sign you like it. I will make one for you, but it'll be different. I don't like repeating myself."

Draco looked at the blinking piles of ash and laughed. He glanced up again and caught Tamora's eye. They just smiled at each other, happy to have some company. This didn't last long. An ear-spitting shriek snapped them both out of their daze.

"Draco!"

He groaned. "Not Pansy. Anyone but Pansy."

Before Pansy had a chance to say anything, Madame Pince was towering over them all. "Get out of the library!" she hissed. "All three of you. This is no place for such noise." Ignoring their protests, she herded them out without another word.

Finally outside, Tamora leaned her head on the wall. "I'm glad that's over."

But it was far from over as Pansy was the next to be shooed out, and she wasn't the type to give up a grievance that easily. "You!" she shouted, pointing accusingly at Tamora. "What the hell do you think you're doing with my Draco?"

Tamora tried to back away from this apparently insane girl. "I- I wasn't doing anything." She stammered. "We were just hanging out."

"Like I'm stupid enough to believe that! Draco's mine and I won't let you or any other little harlot steal him away from me." She raised her hand to slap Tamora, but Draco had seen enough. He grabbed her hand and dragged her backwards.

"Who decided this?" he asked, his voice dangerously quiet. "I thought I made my own choices, not you. Who are you to decide what I can and can't do!" His voice started to rise. "You mean NOTHING to me!"

About to say more, wanting to yell until his voice gave out, he was stopped by Tamora grabbing his arm. He turned and saw the tears welling up in her eyes. "Please stop Draco." Draco was shocked. He hadn't realized just how much he had upset her.

Pansy took this pause to pull away. "I hope you're happy with your choice." She spat, walking away. "But what I really hope is that you displease the Dark Lord someday and you die at his hand – slowly and painfully."

He felt the anger rising again. But another plea from Tamora sent it all flying to the winds.

"I hate fighting." She whispered. She looked up at him, a tear running its way down her face. "This is why I don't want to be around you. Just leave me alone from now on."

"Tamora!" Draco called, but it was too late. The damage had been done and now she was speeding down the corridor, leaving him alone once more.

* * *

It had been a week. Tamora wouldn't have thought it, but since becoming friends with Draco, and then loosing that, the loneliness seemed far worse. Probably because now she knew what she was missing.

Draco was feeling the sting too. Tamora had been one person that wasn't fake – "Just like me." He thought. "I'm just as bad as the rest of them." He sighed as he walked into the changing rooms, getting ready for quidditch practice.

Today his heart just wasn't in the game. And quidditch is not a sport you can afford to be careless in. He was so busy daydreaming that he didn't hear the fateful whistling of a bludger headed straight for him until it was too late. It smashed into the side of his head with a sickening crack. Unable to stay conscious, he fell from his broom, plummeting to the ground, only dimly aware that Professor Snape was rushing out onto the pitch from the stands where he'd been watching.

Tamora was trying her best to concentrate, but it was no good. Dumping in the next ingredient for this week's potion, she returned to staring idly out the window. She just couldn't stop thinking about Draco and it was all the more infuriating because she didn't know why. She hadn't known his for long, but in that short time he'd become her closest friend – human friend anyway.

She was pulled out of her thoughts by Merlin's hiss of alarm. She turned and saw that the potion was boiling over, leaving holes in the desk where it spilled. "Oh, great," she groaned, "now it's ruined." She vanished the contents of her cauldron and fixed the desk then sat back down, chin in hand.

"I'm getting nowhere with this. Come on Merlin, let's go for a walk." She stood up and slung her bag over her shoulder.

"You know," Merlin hissed as he settled around her neck, "that wouldn't have happened had you been paying attention."

"Oh shut up."

* * *

Aimlessly wandering around the grounds, Tamora found herself headed towards the quidditch pitch. "As good a place as any, I suppose." She thought, shrugging.

About to pass by the pitch, she saw Professor Snape stride out. About to call out a greeting, she noticed that he was being followed by a floating stretcher that looked as if it had someone on it.

She jogged to catch up. "What happened Professor?"

Snape's face was troubled. "I'm taking mister Malfoy to the hospital wing."

She looked at the stretcher. Draco was there, blood streaming from a wound on his right temple. "Oh my God! Draco! What happened to you!"

* * *

Draco tried to wake up. It was like trying to swim through molasses. But slowly his eyes opened. He tried to sit up, but a searing wave of pain from his head forced him back down.

He assessed the situation. This was obviously the hospital wing, and he was obviously hurt. How had it happened? A neuron clicked into place in his brain. The image of a bludger headed right for him. Ah.

Managing to prop himself up on his elbows, he noticed there was someone else here. Tamora was sitting in a chair by his bed; her head slumped forward, fast asleep.

Stretching out, he prodded her gently. "Hey, wake up." He said softly. Her eyes opened almost as slowly as his had. He wondered how long she'd been sitting there.

She looked up at him, her eyes widening. "You're okay? Oh, I'm so relieved." She suddenly sprung on him, flinging her arms around his neck.

"Ow, hey!" he protested. "Head injury, remember?"

She pulled away, embarrassed. "Sorry. It's just that when you were brought in here, Madame Pomfrey said you would wake up in no time, but you were out for absolutely AGES."

He frowned. "How long?"

"Three whole days. I even considered letting Merlin bite you to try and wake you up." She giggled. "He's been offering to do that a lot."

"I'll bet he did." Draco chuckled lightly before wincing, his head still hurt from the bludger attack. He looked her in the eyes. "Tamora, I'm sorry I upset you last week. I-"

"It's okay. I realized that I'd rather be friends with you and have all that extra unwanted attention that go back to being alone."

"It's good to see you finally awake mister Malfoy." Madame Pomfrey jolted when she was Tamora. "What are you still doing here? I thought I told you to get to bed hours ago young lady!"

"Yes, but-"

"No buts. Out! Out! Off to bed with you!"

"See you later Draco!" she called as she was bustled out of the ward.

Draco watched the door close thoughtfully. He was glad she wasn't mad at him anymore, it made up for the sore head – he winced – almost.

A/N: Well that's all for a little while. I only put up all these chapters at once because I'm abandoning I've got no reviews since last october. So I'm hoping you guys will be nicer to me. (please be nicer to me!)


	6. I Quit

A/N: Thanks to

Elissa for her reveiw, but quite frankly I was hoping for a little more feedback than one review. Come on people! I need to know these things! Oh, and I'm sorry this took so long, I got damn writers' block halfway through it. Damn you writers' block! I curse thee to the depths of eternal hellfire! By the way, R R!

* * *

Draco sighed for what must have been the hundredth time. Trying to catch up on four days work plus the current things was a real nightmare.

"Don't worry Draco." Tamora assured him. "It won't be long and this will all be finished and then things can get back to normal."

"I just don't want to deal with this right now. All I want is the freedom that only comes from a broomstick, you know?"

She shrugged. "Not really. I've never been on one."

"What? Never?"

She shook her head regretfully. "Grandfather said it was too dangerous and he didn't want me getting hurt."

He grinned wickedly. "There's a first time for everything." He grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet. "Follow me."

"But we might get in trouble!" she protested as she was dragged across the room.

Draco turned back to her. "Come on Tamora, live a little."

* * *

"You ready?"

"I guess." Tamora said nervously, tightening her grip around Draco's waist. When the broom left the ground, she squealed in fright and buried her face into his back.

When they were above the seats surrounding the pitch, he turned back to her. "Tamora, you're missing a beautiful view. Just look, nothing bad will happen. I promise you that you're safe with me, okay?"

She sat up and slowly opened her eyes. "Wow." She breathed, taking in the scenery before her, the moonlight basking everything in a surreal glow. She looked down. "This is amazing." She rested her head on his shoulder.

He turned and smiled at her. "Thought you'd like it."

"Like it? I love it!" she laughed out of pure joy.

Draco was struck once more by just how beautiful she was. Even more so in the moonlight, her eyes shining with delight. It was then that the realization hit him. He'd fallen for her without even knowing.

Something had to be done about this. "You know what?" He asked her quietly. "This is nothing compared to spending time with you."

Confusion filled her eyes. Confusion tinged with both hope and pain. "What do you mean Draco?"

He paused for a moment, trying to find the right words. "You're the only person at this school that I can actually talk to."

"Oh." Was all she said to that. "We should probably get back. It's pretty late." She added heavily.

"Okay." Draco said. Inside, he was cursing. He'd missed his chance!

As they touched down, both of them were silently berating themselves. Draco for not saying what he'd been thinking and Tamora for thinking about something that she thought would never happen.

"_As if I'd even have a chance with him._" She thought gloomily.

Draco looked at her face. She seemed upset about something. Had it been him? Did she want the same as he did? Either way, he had to bite the bullet and tell her. He took a deep, steadying breath. It didn't help that much. "Tamora," he said gently, "there's another reason I like spending time with you."

"What?" she asked, the tiniest glint of hope lighting up in her eyes.

"It's because you're beautiful, inside and out." He lent in towards her, gently touching his lips to hers. When he pulled back to look at her face, it wasn't happy as he'd hoped it would be. Instead her eyes were welling up with unshed tears. His heart sank. He'd been wrong.

"Draco I-" she started, having trouble finding the words. "I can't do this. I don't know if I can trust you."

"Because of my reputation?" he asked glumly.

She shook her head. "No. Not that. I don't know if I could trust anyone. I'm sorry." She said as she turned away from him and started walking back up to the castle.

"How can I prove myself!" Draco called out to her.

She turned back to face him. "I don't know." She said quietly, then walked off, back to the castle and the safety of her bed, leaving Draco to put away his broom alone.

* * *

Draco paused with his fist just an inch from the door. He took a deep, steadying breath and tried to summon up his courage. He had to do this. He finally managed to knock.

"Come in." said the voice from the other side.

Draco walked slowly into Snape's office like a man condemned. "Sir, I need to talk to you about something."

"What is it Draco?" Snape said tersely. "I have very important things to do."

"Iwanrsnfrtquidteam." He mumbled, completely inaudible.

"This may surprise you, but somehow I didn't understand that." Snape drawled.

Draco swallowed to try and clear his throat which had suddenly dried up. "Sir, I want to resign from the Quidditch team."

"Why would you want to do that?" Snape asked, all the drawl suddenly gone from his voice.

He sighed. "It's just something I have to do Sir."

"Very well. If that is what you want." Snape reluctantly conceded.

* * *

By the time Draco managed to find Tamora, it was Tuesday again and she was just heading back to the common room after her potions session.

"Tamora!" he called, running to catch up with her. She stopped and waited for him to get to her, but didn't say anything. "I did it." He said, panting slightly from his run.

"Did what?" Tamora asked, puzzled.

"I found a way to prove myself. I've quit the Quidditch team. I did it for you."

"But…" she started, unable to find the proper words. "But you love Quidditch."

"It doesn't matter anymore. I don't even care if Gryffindor wins the Quidditch cup."

He stood and waited for it all to sink in, watched all the emotions play across her face. Sadness, worry, doubt, then finally, happiness. Her face broke into a radiant smile and she threw her arms around his neck.

"Have I proven myself then?" he asked quietly.

"Oh, a thousand time over!" she exclaimed, kissing him on the cheek.

At that, he laughed and swept her up, spinning her around. He was almost afraid that this was all a dream and one day he'd wake up all alone.


End file.
